Niftier than flat solar panels, but bumping up against the economic reality that cost drives choice more often than not. (Credit: Solyndra)

The most concise explanation yet of Solyndra's struggle to stay afloat comes this week from Susan Kraemer of CleanTechnica.com.

She tells us, as PV Tech reports, that Solyndra has completed a 1.2 MW solar installation on a large warehouse roof near Toulouse, France. The system, which consists of more than 7,080 Solyndra CIGS panels, is the largest Solyndra system in France and one of the largest worldwide.

A French partner, Nazca, installed the roof array for a warehouse owned by Port de Barcelona, one of the main commercial transport and distribution arteries in the Mediterranean area.

Kraemer explains that Solyndra's competitive advantage is two-fold: a unique cylindrical solar panel that can convert reflected light from all angles when installed on flat white building roofs; and it's easy (i.e. cheap) to install.

Solyndra's problem is that the panels are made of thin film; copper-indium-gallium-deselinide. This kind of solar panel material used to be cheaper than silicon. Not now it isn't.

Priscilla Lu of Cathaya Capital, one of Zap’s largest investors and member of its board of directors, breaks it down: “The government subsidizes electric vehicles at about $9,000, and large cities like Beijing and Shanghai add another $9,000. That’s over three quarters of the cost, and the subsidies go to the manufacturer, not the car buyer."

A compact hybrid (hence the "CH." "FT" stands for "Future Toyota"). Toyota says it intends to sell a million hybrids a year worldwide, and to that end, is developing a fleet of hybrids in multiple sizes and price points.

The basic vehicle will be manufactured in Woodstock, Ontario. Tesla will build the battery and related bits in Palo Alto. "The method and installation location of the Tesla components into the vehicle is being discussed," according to the press release.

Some 35 demo vehicles will be built for testing 2011, and then it's off to market in 2012. That's just the RAV4 EV.

Toyota's also planning to launch, with a little help from Panasonic, eight new (not next-generation) hybrid models, a small EV commuter vehicle and a plug-in Prius. Continue reading »

Westland/Hallmark Meat CEO Steven Mendell watches a Humane Society video of "downer" cattle at his slaughterhouse in Chino while he testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 12, 2008. The largest ground beef recall in U.S. history was announced after the video went public. (Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

S. 510 would give the FDA authority to order recalls as opposed to suggesting food producers do it. Also, federal regulators would be able to require food producers draft safety plans and proactively identify and eliminate possible sources of contamination.

Also, there was that kerfuffle over Senator Diane Feinstein's insistence on addressing bisphenol A. The amendment is still in play - although it's a fair bit more modest than when it was launched.

Finally, Senator Jon Tester of Montana wants to exempt small growers and processors out of fear the bill's requirements will drive them out of business. That is a real concern to a number of consumer and environmental activists.

Even if the Senate passes the bill, it still needs to be reconciled with a House-passed version.

BTW, Westland/Hallmark (see photo) went out of business as a result of that recall. KPCC's Steve Cuevas followed up last year, and found the Chino plant under new management.

No place for a pilot in there, but somebody designed and built the plane and all the gizmos in it. (Credit: Northrop Grumman)

A shout out today for this analysis from Nathan Hodge of the Wall Street Journal.

Anticipating lean defense budgets in the future, Northrop CEO Wes Bush has begun a sweeping corporate restructuring over the past few months. Its most radical component: The world's largest naval shipbuilder may exit the shipbuilding business altogether.

Mr. Bush's strategy reflects a broader shift in America's strategic thinking about the military and the industry that arms it. Tomorrow's battlefields may be in cyberspace—or at the edge of outer space. The new symbol of American military might is more likely to be a remotely piloted drone aircraft prowling miles above an insurgent safe house than a division of Marines storming a beach. Continue reading »

California is home to more veterans than any other state in the nation: 2 million men and women. You'd think their experience and training would make them eminently desirable to employers, but the 2009 California unemployment rate for veterans 18 to 24 years old was 25.9 percent, far above the 19.8 percent rate for non-veterans in the same age range, according to data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Yesterday’s "Honor a Hero, Hire a Vet" fair in LA brought out big name employers, like Kaiser Permanente, the Los Angeles Police Department, and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.

But it doesn't take a big, urban employer to give a vet a helping hand up. Lily Casura of the Napa Valley Register tells us about a program called the Farmer-Veteran Coalition. Established farmers mentor Iraq and Afghanistan vets, helping them get launched, and ultimately, self-sufficient.

Santa Cruz-area organic farmer Michael O’Gorman started the program. He says, “It’s not just the plants and animals that are healing — it’s having a mission, where young people who want to work hard and produce real goods are valued again. It’s being needed — and our farming community needs young, bright, strong people who stand back up when they are knocked down.”

The flirtation becomes official today when LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signs a joint declaration between the City of Los Angeles and the Indian film industry to "develop and strengthen motion picture production, distribution, technological, content protection and commercial cooperation between the two filmmaking communities and increase Indian production in the City of Los Angeles."

Welcome to the new era of film/TV/ad shoot cultivation. So Cal entertainment industry boosters have largely flailed about helplessly as other cities, states and countries steal away the business with tax breaks, subsidies (and in some cases non-union labor). Now, that sucking sound you here is the pull to bring foreign shoots here.

A number of advocates for climate-change legislation lost their seats Tuesday. What that means for California's green tech industry is covered in haze, or possibly smog.

Tiffany Hsu of the LA Times goes on to posit that federal lawmakers will tighten the spigot on funding to solar, wind and other alternative energy projects.

Half of the freshman Republicans deny the existence of man made climate change, according to an analysis by Think Progress, a website run by the Center for American Progress. That would include those joining the California delegation: Jeff Denham (CA-19), Andy Vidak (CA-20), and possibly, David Harmer, depending on whether he wins in(CA-11). Continue reading »

"The big challenge will be, how much can we swallow and how much can we pass along?" said Jack Brown, chief executive of Stater Bros. Markets, a 167-store grocery chain based in San Bernardino.

Stater Bros. has seen the prices it pays for cereal rise 5% in recent months. The chain has passed about half the increase on to consumers.

One of the biggest cost drivers...growing demand for meat in China, India and other emerging markets. That's driven up grain prices, which in turn boost the cost of meat, dairy, and cereals. It doesn't help that ethanol is eating up some of the corn we produce. Or that weather is so darn unpredictable.

If you're hurting, remember your local food bank. The system is remarkably robust and creative meeting the needs of hungry Californians. If you're flush, remember your local food bank. They need your financial support.

About This Blog

Shifting Gears is a yearlong, multi-platform project from The California Report. On public radio, and right here online, we’re exploring how California’s manufacturing industry — and the people in it — are adapting to a changing industry and economy. More...